Textual Analysis

Beyonce plays the part of the girlfriend in the relationship between the two character's on screen. There is an obvious trust issue between the couple as there are suspects of the male cheating on her. Beyonce tries to take the point of view of the male and steps in his shoes for a day. She is expressing her views of the male species and how they miss signals from their girlfriends when they are upset and their general attitudes towards life and relationships.

We see Beyonce, a female, in a mans role. She dresses in a police uniform made up of a cap, ray ban aviators, a shirt, trousers and black boots. This uniform displays a strong role in the relationship and as the police are seen as dominant figures of society. The uniform makes Beyonce appear in control and of fair and honest standards, as though we should see her view as one society agrees with, so the audience understand her views in the video through this aspect. In the 50's and 60's a job as a police officer was seen as a male dominating role and women weren't generally seen 'on the job'. The black and white ties into this idea as though these archaic concepts are related to this current event all make her male role more obvious to the audience.

Beyonce displays male qualities and things that we associate with the male gender. For example, through the use of a medium two-shot we see Beyonce grab, what appears to be a criminal, by the arms and slam him onto a police car. This gives a very violent aspect to her character and shows men as violent species. This gives the audience negative attitudes towards the man in the relationship and takes sides with her. It is also an unusual viewing experience for the audience as they arn't as used to seeing a women as opposed to a man act in a violent way.